The family room was one of our bigger changes, color-wise. Most of the rest of the downstairs is Creamy, but since the family room is a step down from the kitchen, it feels like a separate space. I had wanted to have a blue room, so this was it! We’ve been really happy with how it turned out. As an aside, in the corner you can see Guinness’ crate, which is doubling as an end table. Yay, double duty!

Sleepy Blue SW6225

For us, Sherwin-Williams’ Sleepy Blue (SW6225) was the right balance of watery-without-feeling-cold. We used SW’s Duration Home paint, in washable matte, to withstand the rigors of fetch balls bouncing off of them and general shenanigans.

Garlands and stems up for the holidays - from Michael's

With such a long mantle, it was hard to find what would fill the space, and feel balanced enough — but not too symmetrical — I like what’s up there now, but I’m not sure whether the stems can stay up year-round. They’ve been great with the gold and cream decorations we put up for Christmas, though.

We took the heavy valence and drapes down to paint, and decided not to put them back up. They didn’t really further the beachy feel we were going for, and worked better with the old cream paint than with our new blue. More importantly, though, the drapes didn’t open widely enough to allow the door to actually open — so they were completely impractical. The valence also hung down in the way. I’m thinking of putting up sheer panel window treatments mounted on the door itself — nothing that will block too much light.

With the possible exception of the kitchen, this is where we probably spend the most time. On the “eventually” list: upgrading to a bigger (flat screen) TV, probably mounted over where the beanbag chair is, and replacing the entertainment center with something a little smaller, sleeker, more compact. So far, though, we’re really happy with the changes we’ve made!